Netzel, Sandström & Tarrodi: Piano Concertos Peter Friis Johansson, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra & Ryan Bancroft

• Laura Netzel (1939 - 1927): Piano Concerto in E Minor, Op. 84:
• 1 Netzel: Piano Concerto in E Minor, Op. 84: I. Allegro moderato 09:32
• 2 Netzel: Piano Concerto in E Minor, Op. 84: II. Lento 08:42
• Peter Friis Johansson (b. 1983), Laura Netzel: Piano Concerto in E Minor, Op. 84:
• 3 Johansson, Netzel: Piano Concerto in E Minor, Op. 84: III. Presto (Completed by P. F. Johansson) 08:51
• Sven-David Sandström (1942 - 2019): 5 Pieces for Piano & Orchestra:
• 4 Sandström: 5 Pieces for Piano & Orchestra: I. — 08:13
• 5 Sandström: 5 Pieces for Piano & Orchestra: II. — 03:20
• 6 Sandström: 5 Pieces for Piano & Orchestra: III. — 04:56
• 7 Sandström: 5 Pieces for Piano & Orchestra: IV. — 02:07
• 8 Sandström: 5 Pieces for Piano & Orchestra: V. — 06:42
• Andrea Tarrodi (b. 1981): Piano Concerto No. 1 "Stellar Clouds":
• 9 Tarrodi: Piano Concerto No. 1 "Stellar Clouds": I. Introduction 03:09
• 10 Tarrodi: Piano Concerto No. 1 "Stellar Clouds": II. Star Formation 03:45
• 11 Tarrodi: Piano Concerto No. 1 "Stellar Clouds": III. Constellations 03:33
• 12 Tarrodi: Piano Concerto No. 1 "Stellar Clouds": IV. Cosmic Nursery 04:17
• 13 Tarrodi: Piano Concerto No. 1 "Stellar Clouds": V. Hypernova 03:16
• 14 Tarrodi: Piano Concerto No. 1 "Stellar Clouds": VI. Solo Cadenza 04:40
• 15 Tarrodi: Piano Concerto No. 1 "Stellar Clouds": VII. Recapitulation 03:20
• Total Runtime 01:18:23

Info for Netzel, Sandström & Tarrodi: Piano Concertos

Passionate about the music of his own country, Peter Friis Johansson has commissioned new works as well as worked toward the unearthing of overlooked masterpieces of Swedish music. His latest album presents the fruits of these efforts: one older, unfinished work with a completion by Johansson himself, the two others commissions made on his initiative. All three concertos were premièred between 2017 and 2020.

At the turn of the previous century, Laura Netzel was one of Sweden’s most acclaimed and frequently performed composers internationally. Composed around that time, the Piano Concerto, Netzel’s largest composition, exceeds the expected framework with grand dramatic gestures and waves of emotion. Sven-David Sandström’s Five Pieces departs from the traditional concerto form with its division into ‘pieces’. The solo piano seems to seek to twist dissonances from the hands of a reluctant orchestra to recover beauty and harmony, striving, as the composer put it, ‘for something that can be found high up, per­haps a heavenly ascension’. Stellar Clouds, Andrea Tarrodi’s first piano concerto is another heavenly journey, reminiscent of the soundtracks of science-fiction movies. Here, the soloist might be interpreted as a sort of protector of humanity that seeks to provide a safe haven for personal harmony in a complex cosmic context.

Peter Friis Johansson, piano
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra
Ryan Bancroft, conductor

Peter Friis Johansson
s known for his fiery performances, nuanced approach, and his insightful programming. He has earned international acclaim through his performances with leading ensembles and his prize-winning successes at numerous international piano competitions. ​

The story does, however, begin quite unglamorous. At age nine, in a suburb of Stockholm, Peter Friis Johansson enrolls in free of cost public music school and the rise of his musical abilities starts with Inger Flyckt as his teacher. When he later studies at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm his teachers are Anders Kilström and Mats Widlund, and outside of the academical world, he further develops his musicality with Konstantin Bogino as his mentor. ​

As a student, Mr. Friis Johansson's career is flourishing. He embarks on several Scandinavian tours and, along with Jakob Koranyi, records a CD that is later crowned album of the year by magazine MusicWeb International. He is discovered by Swedish Radio who makes him their artist in residence and embarks on a tour of Europe with clarinetist Emil Jonason, performing concerts in, among others venues, the Musikverein and the Concertgebouw. ​

But in the summer of 2012, disaster strikes. Peter’s career is devastated by an injury in a finger and suddenly everything is different. For a year he performs concerts with nine functioning fingers and when the injury is finally fully healed, we meet a changed artist and person. Peter makes his international comeback at the 'Alaska International Piano-e-Competition 2014'. The competition is a triumphant success for Peter who wins the first prize, gold medal and takes his first step in his US career. ​

Mr. Friis Johansson is currently performing cycles of Franz Schubert's eleven completed piano sonatas, he will also record the cycle of sonatas during the coming years. He has premiered concerti by Sven-David Sandström and Andrea Tarrodi with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2020, he completed and premiered the piano concerto by Laura Netzel with the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra. ​

In addition to his solo career, Peter is a passionate chamber musician who has engaged in long-term projects with, among others, cellists Andreas Brantelid and Jakob Koranyi. With Emil Jonason, he forms the duo Emil&Peter, whose current project 'Worst of Emil&Peter' seamlessly blends music with acting and the spoken word. The same idea is present in Peter’s solo project 'The Final Frontier', a concert with a science fiction theme that through the use of modern technology updates the piano recital to an art form created for modern day society. ​

Peter is also active as an entrepreneur and as a teacher. In the summer of 2017 he, together with cellist Jakob Koranyi, founded the Järna Festival Academy. During 2015-2020, he taught at the Academy of Music in Västerås and has previously given lectures in the history of ideas and rhetoric organized by the Academy of Music in Ingesund. He regularly gives master classes at music conservatories in Sweden and abroad.

Booklet for Netzel, Sandström & Tarrodi: Piano Concertos